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Rating: 
Summary: Great stories -- subtle agenda
Review: I do appreciate Mr. Rosenblatt's enormous experience as a reporter and his witty writing. However, I had a few concerns with this book. Here they are...--America's core values are not overly complex as Rosenblatt paints them to be. Rather ideals of virtue, character, honesty, integrity, freedom, diligence, and rigor are for the most part, simple concepts. When they do become complex is when politicians and others try to rationalize actions which go against those ideals. I wish Rosenblatt had pointed this out. --I do agree that American arrogance can be an ugly thing. However, American pride is a beautiful thing. This is an important but subtle distinction which I believe Rosenblatt misses. --Rosenblatt is heavy on nostalgia and weaves things like small towns and baseball throughout his essay. However, under this sweet syrup he carefully sneaks political ideology about the evils of censorship and the importance of increased gun control. He masters this technique of guising political rhetoric beneath emotional language. I have to be honest, this bothers me. Rosenblatt leans to the left and desires ever-increasing government control as well as a boost in government spending. It's fine that he believes this, but I'd prefer that he wasn't so sneaky about it. -- How can Rosenblatt tell us that integrity and honesty are the ideals, which make America great and then go on to say that too much was made of a previous president's deception and bald-faced lying? (The Clinton scandal) Rosenblatt wants moral principles to be unshakable and foundational, but then wants to bend them when it best suits his political goals. Unfortunately, he can't both ways. In short Rosenblatt is a superior writer who couches his liberal political bent in nostalgic stories and terms. The result is a product, which may appeal to the heart, but surely offends the mind. Let the buyer beware.
Rating: 
Summary: Stick to Aging
Review: If there's one thing I can't stand it's ambulance-chasing "journalists" who seize the opportunity to make a quick buck, taking advantage of a national tragedy. Beware to all unsuspecting readers. This "new" book is nothing more than a collection of already ran essays vaguely tied into the "larger story" of America. There was nothing informative or interesting in these trite, boring and for the most part, pointless essays. That the writer feels anyone would be interested in reading this bland left-leaning drivel suggests that he is nothing but a narcissist. His writing "resonates" with re-hashed spam.
Rating: 
Summary: a Mr. Smartypants with a love of truth, beauty.....
Review: Incredibly funny. Wise. Roger Rosenblatt's writing style is clever and lovely - I think he's the e.e. cummings of essayists. Try his new book "Anything Can Happen: Notes on My Inadequate Life and Yours" where he ponders "is there an illegal pad? who was Absorbine Sr.? Where exactly is Magnesia?" yet also writes lines like "To True Lovers Who Lament the Fact that They Cannot Live Forever: You already have."
Rating:
Summary: a Mr. Smartypants with a love of truth, beauty.....
Review: Incredibly funny. Wise. Roger Rosenblatt's writing style is clever and lovely - I think he's the e.e. cummings of essayists. Try his new book "Anything Can Happen: Notes on My Inadequate Life and Yours" where he ponders "is there an illegal pad? who was Absorbine Sr.? Where exactly is Magnesia?" yet also writes lines like "To True Lovers Who Lament the Fact that They Cannot Live Forever: You already have."
Rating:
Summary: Rosenblatt's Love Letter to America
Review: Like many people, I tend to find authors whose opinions I share brilliant and great writers, so I can't be very objective about Roger Rosenblatt's new book. I'm a big fan of his, having fallen in love with his essays after reading "The Man In The Water" several years ago. Mr. Rosenblatt convinces me that he is just as much a patriot as, say, the current White House inhabitants, perhaps more so. In these 30 essays, many of which were written before 9/11, a fact that shouldn't be overlooked, Mr. Rosenblatt tells what he finds good about this country. There are essays on gun control-- Mr. Rosenblatt believes it is an idea whose time has come-- baseball, lawyers-- he says we are glad for them when we need them-- he even includes a chapter on being out of this world... Rosesnblatt writes with wit, good humour and a gentleness even when he is describing a theory or person he disagrees with completely. There is much that even arch conservatives should like in these essays. In a sweet, nostalgic essay called "We're Old-Fashioned," the author describes three aged spinsters who took him in as a five- year-old boy and read to him, taking him into the "kindom of words." Such a phrase is a perfect way to describe this fine collection, Mr. Rosenblatt's Love Letter to America.
Rating:
Summary: Stick to Aging
Review: Never was a good political commentator. Still isn't. Full of himself. Should stick to "the personal."
Rating:
Summary: When did "Liberal" become a bad word?
Review: There is nothing wrong with being liberal. Being liberal means putting people above political dogma no matter which country it is in. There is nothing sneaky about Rosenblatt's prose. His poetic style carries his ideas across clearly and with grace. What suprises me is that people are actually threatened by this book. How absurd! It is a wonderful book and a joy to read. But hey, maybe everyone who didn't like this book can burn it along with "Catcher in the Rye".
Rating:
Summary: Great Summer Reading
Review: This is perfect timing for this book. In "Where We Stand", Roger Rosenblatt takes a look at the things that make our country great, and puts them in a post-Septemer 11 context. And he doesn't take the easy road, writing about perfect sunsets and the Fourth of July (not that they're bad, either). This book takes an insightful look at some of the less obvious things to love about America, such as the freedom of speech that allows our politicians to say incredibly dumb things yet remain the leaders of the free world. Not only does Rosenblatt take a sharp, clear look at these things, but he does so with a great sense of humor throughout. This is a great read for summer, and it can't help but cheer you up about America today.
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